Of Friendship & Shadow Games

“A new student?!”

While Twilight had certianly expected some matter of reaction from her friends, she certainly did not expect it to be expressed in such a suspiscious tone.

After having agreed with principal Celestia to help guide the new student which would start at CHS the very next day, Twilight had simply spent the rest of her free period in peace at the library. In fact, she had been so engrossed in one of her favourite author’s works that she completely lost track of time and before she knew it, it was time for lunch.

Twilight had then swiftly hurried over to the cafeteria, filled up her plate with macaroni and cheese, and joined her other friends by the table where they always sat. It was another contrast to her days at Crystal Prep where her lunch periods would always be spent alone. Canterlot High had truly been a blessing for the scholarly girl.

After quickly joining the other girls, talk had quickly turned towards the algebra test they had all taken earlier that day. Whilst all them seemed to have gotten through the exam to varying degress, all seven of them rejoiced that it was over.

Afterwards, the conversations went through multiple topics, such as how the two samoyed dogs at the animal shelter where Fluttershy worked had gotten a batch of puppies, how the harvest at Applejack’s farm was going now in the spring, how Rarity had seen a positively fabulous dress in a storefront yesterday, etc. It was when Sunset mentioned that the new game that she had special ordered from Japan was on the way that the subject of the new student had resurfaced in Twilight’s mind. Naturally, she therefore brought it up.

She certainly didn’t expect the reaction that she got.

“A new student is coming here?” Sunset asked once again, her tone being filled scepticism and slight hostility. The faces of the others seemed to reflect the same or at least similar emotions, with the exception of Pinkie Pie, whose ever present smile did not waver. If anything it seemed to grow at the news.

“Uhm, yes...” Twilight responded, unsure of why they were reacting like this. “He’s coming here all the way from Japan of all places and since I’m kind of new here myself, principal Celestia thought I could show him around tomorrow.” Not being blind to the various looks on the other girls’ faces, Twilight asked, “Why? You girls look like there’s a demon about to enroll here.”

“Pfft, knowing our luck there probably is.” Rainbow Dash scoffed. “After rampaging she-demons, anger-powered sirens and the whole multiverse almost being torn apart, a demon sounds right up our alley.” Twilight looked away at the mention of the last event, though no one seemed to notice.

“Hm! Well I certainly hope not!” Rarity turned up her nose at the idea. “These constant battles against evil magic wears and tears my wardrobe something awful! It’s just too much for me to keep up with.”

“I really hope we won’t have to fight something again...” Fluttershy said quietly, holding a lock of her hair and looking scared at the prospect.

“Well, I haven’t recieved any word from princess Twilight about any recent threats in Equestria making their way here.” Sunset observed, hand on her chin as she looked deep in thought. “Then again, she wasn’t really aware of the Sirens’ prescense either until they revealed themselves... We best be on our guard.”

“Uhm...” Twilight started. “Don’t you guys think that you’re blowing this a little bit out of proportion? I mean, a new student arriving is hardly a point of great concern.”

“Ah agree with ya on that, Twi.” The down to earth Applejack said. Seeing the questioning looks the others gave her, she continued. “Now Ah know that we ain’t got a pretty history dealin’ with magical doohickeys and whatnot from Equestria, but we can’t let that affect our common sense. Just ‘cause we don’t have the best experience with new students don’t mean that we can treat dis Bakura-feller like a crook for no reason.”

“Applejack’s got the right idea!” Pinkie Pie joined in, always looking on the bright side. “It’s not like this Bakura-guy’s gonna be possessed by some ancient malevolent spirit that has the powers of darkness at his disposal or anything!” All the other girls simply stared at Pinkie Pie at that particular cheerful sentence, knowing that these kinds of out-of-nowhere observations was just another Pinkie Pie-thing. It was better not to question it. Twilight had almost been driven insane whilst trying the other week.

“And also,” The pink girl continued, looking more gleeful for every word. “, this means that I gotta start planning a ‘Welcome to Canterlot’-party for him! I CAN’T WAIT!” Pinkie Pie’s usual enthusiasm was enough to bring some levity to the group as they all shared a quick chuckle. Sunset, however, was quick to return to her wary mood.

“I’m not saying we should round up a mob with torches and pitch forks...” She muttered, looking away whilst blushing slightly. Her eyes then turned serious and locked onto Twilight. “I’m just saying that some caution wouldn’t be so bad. You said it yourself, Applejack. We do kinda have a history with evil magic.”

“Tell me about it. It’s actually kinda amazing that it manages to intervene with so much of our school time.” Rainbow Dash muttered before she began to count off on her fingers. “We’ve got the Fall formal, the Battle of the Bands, the Friendship gaaa..." The athletic girl trailed off, knowing that this was kind of a sore spot. "W-which we shouldn't focus on! The past is the past, that's what I always say! HA! Haha! Erm...sorry." She trailed off whilst Applejack just shook her head.

Despite Rainbow Dash's not-so-subtle attempt to avoid that particular topic, it still poured salt in Twilight's wounds. The climax of the Friendship games was something Twilight thought that she would never forget, despite how much she wished to. The feeling of becoming completely drunk on magic power was not something she wanted to relive anytime soon. For now, she merely let out a mournful sigh, "Nothing to apolagize for, Rainbow."

"Anyhow," Rarity said, leading the conversation away from that unpleasant topic. "I suppose that Twilight and Applejack are right. Coming here from so far away, I say we should greet this Bakura fellow with an open mind rather then hostility." The young fashionista then got a bit of a dreamy look on her face as an idea struck. "Maybe he could tell me a bit about japanese fashion. My mother used to own a japanese robe-looking garment and it was simply gorgeous!"

"I really hope he likes animals." Fluttershy's voice was as usual very quiet, but it now held a bit of a hopeful tone to it. Her thoughts had turned to the recently born puppies back at the animal shelter.

Pinkie Pie, who had apparently already begun planning the new student's surprise party, was muttering to herself. "I wonder what kind of frosting he likes?... Do they have cupcakes in Japan?"

The football- obsessed Rainbow Dash also looked pondering. "Wonder if this Bakura-guy knows any japanese sports... And if it turns out he's a bad guy," She shot a fist though the air as if punching something, scaring the life out of poor Fluttershy who sat opposite of her. ", we'll just have to kick his evil butt into next week!"

Sunset let herself smile at her friends' antics before turning to Twilight once again. "I know I'm being a bit paranoid, but I just want all of us to be safe. Promise me that you'll atleast keep an eye out for anything strange tomorrow. Please?"

Twilight definetly agreed that Sunset was acting a bit paranoid, but the scholarly girl smiled, knowing that Sunset only wanted to protect all of them. The bond that the seven of them had formed at CHS was probably the best thing that had ever happened to both of them, and Twilight didn't want to lose that friendship for the world.

"I promise, Sunset." The fire-haired girl smiled at her gratefully, and the topic of the new student was left alone for the rest of the day. Though unbeknownst to the other six, a strong sense of doubt still lingered inside Sunset's mind and it was not to be weakened anytime soon.

If Ryou had been asked to describe Canterlot City in one word it would have to be charming.

After an agonizingly long flight and a tedious drive he had finally arrived in his new home and he had to say that he was pleasantly surprised. Though the boy had seen plenty of different pictures of the place, he now realized just how much they didn't do the place justice.

The city was not enormous, espescially compared to some japanese cities he'd stayed in, but that suited Ryou just fine. There had been times in Japan where he'd felt suffocated by the huge buildings and amounts of people surrounding him, so it was quite a welcome change.

His pictures had also not been able to show just how vibrant the whole place was. The buildings, the places, the people, all of it welled with colour, warmth and individuallity. Indeed, of the people Ryou saw passing by his car window, not a single person seemed to be quite like the other. Everything just seemed to pack so much personality and Ryou couldn't help but admire it. Yes, charming was the perfect word for Canterlot City.

Unfortunatley, it was definetly not a word fit to describe his new living arrangements, as Ryou quickly noticed upon stepping out of his cab.

The Blackwood house, as it was called, had apparently belonged to Ryou's maternal grandfather who used to live in Canterlot. After he had died the house had passed onto Ryou, however he'd had no use for the old building until just now. Not a soul had lived there for over 10 years and it showed. Weeds and ivy climbed wildly up along the black wooden walls, the garden was almost completely overgrown and a few windows were completely broken.

The sight was certainly not encouraging, but Ryou made sure to stomp the more negative thoughts out of his head as he stood on the sidewalk facing the house. He should be lucky that he even had somewhere to stay, he'd been less fortunate during some of his other transfers. And Ryou's father... his father should have been here. The more hopeful part of Ryou had half-excpected his father to be waiting for him at the airport... but he wasn't. Though disappointed, in retrospect Ryou thought that he shouldn't have been surprised. This was what always happened and he should've gotten used to it by now.

Letting a breath escape between his parted lips, Ryou burried those emotions inside and brought his hand to his pendant which was currently hanging freely from his neck. He didn't know why, but something about that ancient artifact could feel almost soothing at times, helping him in times of distress to calm his thoughts. Indeed, the millenium ring as it was called was quite a queer piece of jewelry.

Realizing that he'd been just standing on the sidewalk for an odd amount of time, Ryou gathered his wits and luggage, let go of the ring and walked towards the mahogany door. Each step he took felt heavy. Now standing infront of the entrance, he reached into his pocket and brought out one of the three keys to the place that he'd been given. Taking a breath as if bracing himself, he brought the key into the old door and twisted it. A resounding click was heard.

His pale hand reached around the silver door knob and turned it, slowly opening the door to his new home, the old hinges creaking all the way. He swiftly stepped inside with his luggage and closed the door behind him. He decided to leave his shoes on, not wanting to spend his first day in America at the hospital because of some rogue shard of glass.

The Blackwood house was quite filthy, Ryou decided. At least there appeared to be some furniture in the house, covered in delicate fabric in a revolting shade of yellow which Ryou guessed had been white at some point. Hopefully it had been able to prevent the furniture underneath from sharing the same fate. Ryou pulled of the fabric with a swift tug, letting the crimson fabric of the couch breathe the free air again for the first time in 10 years.

Ryou let his eyes wander towards the door where his luggage stood. He hadn't packed all that much to carry with him but unfortunatley, due to an on-going strike, the moving trucks with most of his furniture, collections, library, games and figurines would arrive within two days, so at the moment he would just have to make do with what he had; a suitcase full of clothes and a few personal belongings and a filthy old house... Goody.

All the traveling must've made him more tired then he'd thought, as Ryou let out a deep yawn, feeling a sudden tiredness hit him like a train. That old couch began to look extremely inviting, and it took all of the pale boy's will power not to immediatley fall face-first onto its soft fabric. But then again, he supposed that he could always make a maintenance check of the house after he'd taken a little nap.

Even though it was only 16:30 in the afternoon, Ryou quickly felt his eyes growing heavier and heavier. Must be the jet lag, he supposed. Just as long as he didn't show up late to his new school tomorrow, it shouldn't be too much of a hazzle to just take a little nap. Yes, just as soon as he... closed his eyes a little...

The boy's eyelids fell quickly, to a hypothetical onlooker it would have looked as if he had fallen asleep standing up. However, the millenium ring suddenly seemed to shine in a sickly yellow colour, and just as quickly as they had closed in apparent exhaustion, the boy's eyes snapped open and his frame went from relaxed and slouching to tall and rigid. However, the boy's eyes we're no longer those of Ryou Bakura...

Whereas Ryou's brown eyes were normally what people would consider kind and warm-looking, now they were dark, cold and held an undeniable malice to them. The boy's mouth also grew into a very toothy and sinister-looking grin. Contrary to Ryou's usually soft and quiet voice, a low, dark chuckle emanated from the boy's throat.

"Well then, my little Landlord," He spoke seemingly to himself, in a gravely voice that did not belong to Ryou Bakura. ", it appears that you'll soon have some new little friends joining you for eternity. I can't wait..."

An insane cackle could be heard from the Blackwood house that day while the skies above grew dark. It was as if the world itself knew that great evil had come to Canterlot City.